Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
After Heimdall is destroyed Kady, Ezra, Hannah, Nik and the remaining survivors/refugees are on their way to Kerenza, though they have no idea what to expect after the Beitech invasion and they have to deal with more than just a little bit of potential anarchy on board the Mao.
Back on Kerenza, Kady’s presumed dead cousin Asha is doing everything she can do to survive. That is until Rhys, her ex, shows up and works for none other than the company that has invaded her home.
As the crew’s path brings them closer to Kerenza Beitech is making their own moves and it is only a matter of time that their paths will converge and all hell breaks loose. Their combined efforts and maybe a little help from a computer is the only way that any of them are going to survive it all.
The Story
You know how every moment through Illuminae and Gemina you thought, Oh, how is the team going to get out of this now? Enter book 3 of the series so that you officially wonder how are we going to live without any more of this crew in our lives now that it’s over? Kaufman and Kristoff works magic as they wrap up the story that follows this unlikely crew of kids that drive the rebellion against Beitech. While Gemina is still my favorite of the series, this book does a nice job of wrapping everything up, not necessarily nicely, because this is The Illuminae Files, and not everyone gets out of the war unscathed.
I think the most important part of this book is that it is not the major events that define a war, but all of the little things combined. And that it’s quite possible that someone who isn’t an adult can change the outcome. It’s the pebbles that cause the avalanche.
The World Building
As much as I loved the first books, it was sort of nice to be off ship. There’s only so much you can get within documents portraying hallways and rooms on a massive ship or jump station. First of all, Kerenza made me think of Hoth in Star Wars. With the snowy planet also came all the lives of the survivors and the Beitech soldiers both that were residing on the planet. The culture of people as they go about their lives trying to not be x’d by Beitech but still trying to cause a rebellion that could turn the tide. The Beitech soldiers really just doing their jobs justifying their actions because they were attacking an illegal colony. All of this was expressed in our familiar docier format, with excerpts from Hannah’s beloved journal, with the addition to posters depicting secret messages to the rebels and tablet videos.
The Characters
I am only going to talk about Asha and Rhys here. Can I just say they were a bit boring? I liked that their lives had a little bit more background, but their relationship wasn’t as heart throbbing as Kady & Ezra or Nik & Hannah. I sort of expected a little bit more of forbidden steamy reunion type of scenarios. Their relationship serves its purpose, I was just hoping for more. I do appreciate the conviction and drive of Asha. She proves to be another smart and tough cookie that should be feared.
The Soundtrack
Radiohead – Idioteque
